By Bruce Karnick

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Coming off a tough loss to Chanhassen, the Raider boys were looking to prove they have what it takes to play football. The hard pill to swallow was that they needed to prove it to only themselves, except they did not know that is what they were needing.

“We had a really spirited week of practice after a tough game last week. I told the kids we’re still not perfect and that’s okay, we’re going to keep getting better and better, but it was awfully fun to see the kids smiling, energetic, into it and excited. After a game like Chanhassen, that’s not very typical,” Head Coach Dana Strain said after the Apple Valley game.

What Coach Strain was talking about is the perseverance his team showed bouncing back after a 277 loss to a team they could have beaten. That lone touchdown in the first game was a huge shot in the arm for the Raiders. Prior to that touchdown, the team looked and acted uncharacteristically as if they were unsure of everything they knew about football up to that precise moment.

That wakeup moment had the boys talking about “if we had only done this or that sooner” on the sidelines. They thought, if they had a redo, they could hang with Chanhassen and anyone else on their schedule, and it came at the perfect moment.

The Raiders travelled to Apple Valley on Friday to take on the Eagles. The Eagles were set to receive to start the game. Jack Sieben made a great kick to the twenties where an Apple Valley player mishandled the ball allowing it to get away from him and his teammates. Once the scramble and the scrum were all over, the Raiders recovered the ball on the Eagle one yard line. The first offensive play for Hastings was a one yard run for a touchdown by QB Danny Millner. Sieben put the PAT through, and Hastings had the lead 10 seconds into the game.

Apple Valley opened their playbook and went to the air to score backtoback touchdowns in the first quarter taking a 137 lead. The Raider offense stalled for a third time and Apple Valley took over near their 40yard line and they took to the air again, this time, the Raiders Blake Vandehoef was ready.

“They already had two touchdowns to this side in the game, so I knew they were going to be targeting him heavy. I just stayed in my coverage, read the QB’s read, I came up on it, made a good play and took it to the crib,” said Vandehoef after the game.

Vandehoef scored a pick six with 11 seconds left in the first quarter tying the game at 13. That was the turning point of the game and possibly the season. It was clear that the guys were starting to believe, starting to trust each other and the system in place.

From that point forward, offensively it was all Hastings. The Raider defense kept Apple Valley on their heels the rest of the game. Perfectly timed blitzes, swarming defense and more interceptions including one by Aaron Vandehoef.

“It was awesome! You dream of that stuff as a little kid, I’m sure my parents are happy, nothing better than sharing something like this with your big brother,” added Blake Vandehoef.

“It’s cool, we had other chances at it too, so, it was great to see our kids flying around and getting close to the ball. The most fun thing about it is we had so many guys that were doing it in all phases and all position groups,” said Coach Strain.

The second quarter slowed down in the scoring department with the only score coming at the foot of Sieben, a 26yard field goal with 6:22 left in the half giving Hastings the 1613 lead. That kick capped off a 10 play, 64yard drive.

Late in the third quarter, Hastings went to the air and Jon Bezdicek made things happen for the Raiders. First a 32yard pass from Millner down the left hash. Bezdicek made a leaping grab over two defenders then avoided a few more to make it into the redzone. A couple plays later, Millner connected with Bezdicek on a crossing pattern at the goal line for the touchdown, capping off an eight play, 76yard drive. The PAT failed and Hastings had the lead 2213.

The final scoring drive of the game started at the end of the third quarter and finished just 26 seconds into the fourth. The Hastings defense had been punishing the Eagle offense, smothering almost everything they tried to do and forcing at turnover on downs. Hastings took over on the Eagle 33yard line and Payton Burow went back to work doing what he had been all night long, delivering punishing runs up the middle. With 11:34 left in the game, Burow hit paydirt on a 2yard TD run. The PAT failed and the Raiders had the lead 2813.

In the win, the Raiders offense had 150 yards rushing on 36 carries for a 4.17yard average. Burow led the running backs with 23 carries for 122 yards and one touchdown. Ryan Clemons had two carries for five yards with two touchdowns.

Milner completed just three of his 11 pass attempts for 67 yards and one touchdown, he also ran eight times for one yard and one touchdown.

Bezdicek led with two receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown, Jack Cloutier had the other reception for 22 yards.

Defensively, the Raiders saw 57 plays, allowed 234 yards and two touchdowns.

The Raiders travel to Simley to take on the Spartans at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sep. 17.

Blake Vandehoef’s pick six helped build the confidence of the Raider defenders. Here, (L to R) Tom Kennedy, Aaron Vandehoef, Blake Vandehoef, Isaiah McCabe and Sawyer Tjomsland are returning to the Raider sideline after celebrating the pick six.Photo by Bruce Karnick

Payton Burow punches through the offensive line from two yards out for the final score of the game and his first TD of the game. Photo by Bruce Karnick